This is an opinion column<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s guest columnist is Michael Ward <\/p>\n
As a frequent visitor to Colorado Springs for more than 30 years, I\u2019ve grown to love both the people and the geography of the Rocky Mountains. While most of my visits have been work-related, they\u2019ve also given me the chance to visit family in the Denver area and enjoy the incredible beauty and outdoor activities the region has to offer.<\/p>\n
For the last few years when I\u2019ve visited Colorado, when I\u2019ve been asked by my uber driver or waiter about where I\u2019m from, as someone from Huntsville, Alabama, my answer has often led to some interesting conversations. The reaction from my hosts is usually something along the lines of \u201cwhy is Huntsville trying to take Space Command away from us?\u201d <\/p>\n
My response to this question has been to ask them what they know about Huntsville and our connection to space exploration and defense? Their answer to that question has typically been: \u201cNot much.\u201d <\/p>\n
And so, for however long the encounter allows, I\u2019m happy to share some space history nuggets with them that usually has them scratching their heads. They simply had no idea that Huntsville, Alabama, is the birthplace of the USA\u2019s space program. <\/p>\n
They\u2019re stunned to learn that Huntsville is place where the first rockets that launched American satellites into orbit and American astronauts into space were designed and manufactured. The place that developed the rockets that took us to the Moon? Yep, Huntsville, Alabama. <\/p>\n
They\u2019re usually gobsmacked when I tell them that almost half of the Army\u2019s weapons procurement budget is managed on the local military base \u2013 Redstone Arsenal \u2013 and that the Army\u2019s aviation, missile, missile defense and space commands are headquartered there. <\/p>\n
And while a lot of Colorado politicians have framed the decision to locate Space Command headquarters in Huntsville as a political move, the truth is that the Air Force selected Redstone Arsenal in an objective process, based entirely on its merits. That merit-based decision was verified by the Secretaries of the Air Force for both Presidents Biden and Trump, as well as the Government Accounting Office and the DoD Office of the Inspector General. <\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean that all Coloradans have to agree with the decision – but that\u2019s the truth. <\/p>\n
We now find ourselves in a critical situation as the Space Command will be moving to Redstone Arsenal and Huntsville, Alabama. It\u2019s important to our national security that the move happens as smoothly as possible. <\/p>\n
For some of the existing Space Command employees, this will be an exciting opportunity to explore new places and make new friends. For others, it will be more challenging. <\/p>\n
As a community, we are committed to doing everything possible to make this transition a positive experience. Those who choose to come will be in good company \u2014 joining the thousands who have relocated to Redstone over the past 35 years through BRAC realignments and, more recently, the FBI\u2019s new HQ2.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ll likely find that the cost of living here is a little lower and there\u2019s a lot less snow. We have great outdoor activities and were ranked by REI as one of the top places in the US for hiking. There\u2019s lots of wilderness with great mountain bike trails and lots of white water (and fishing and hunting) to enjoy. There\u2019s a vibrant entertainment industry and a booming downtown. <\/p>\n
Those who move here with Space Command will make our community stronger \u2014 just as every wave of newcomers before them has done. Our strength comes from the diversity of experiences and perspectives that new residents bring.<\/p>\n
Carl Jones, the namesake of Huntsville\u2019s Jones Valley, was fond of saying in the 60\u2019s that: \u201cThose who were born here were just lucky and those who moved here were just smart.\u201d That sentiment still rings true today.<\/p>\n
Michael Ward is Senior Vice President, Government & Public Affairs at the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce. <\/p>\n
View from the Top<\/a> is a weekly column from AL.com<\/a> exploring the answers to the questions of \u201cWhy Huntsville? Why now? What happens next? And what can the city do to handle so much growth and change?\u201d Ideas or volunteers for a guest column can contact Doug Martinson at dougii@martinsonandbeason.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is an opinion column Today\u2019s guest columnist is Michael Ward As a frequent visitor to Colorado Springs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[79,193],"class_list":["post-172118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}